Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess have signed on to co-host “The Tony Awards: Act One,” a live pre-show streaming on Pluto TV before the main Tonys ceremony next month. The 85-minute broadcast will begin at 6:35 p.m. ET on June 7, kicking off Broadway’s biggest night with the presentation of the first round of Tony Awards.
The “Act One” telecast will air for free on Pluto TV’s “Live Music” channel within the platform’s entertainment category. Immediately following the streaming pre-show, the 79th Annual Tony Awards will broadcast live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ Premium starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Benanti is a five-time Tony nominee who won the award for her performance in “Gypsy.” Her other Tony-nominated performances include those for “Swing!,” “Into the Woods,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” and “She Loves Me.” Burgess, a veteran of the stage who has appeared in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Guys and Dolls,” earned wide recognition and four consecutive Emmy Award nominations for his television role as Titus Andromedon in the comedy series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” He secured two additional Emmy nominations, for the show’s interactive special and his voice work on “Central Park.”
The main Tonys ceremony is set to return to Radio City Music Hall with Grammy Award winner P!NK hosting. The Tony Awards are produced through a collaboration between the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League, with Raj Kapoor, Sarah Levine Hall and Jack Sussman serving as executive producers for the 2026 broadcast.
A full list of 2026 Tony nominees can be found here.
